Illinois recruit commits to UConn women

Published 1:00 am, Wednesday, March 25, 2009

What transpired during that brief stay on the UConn campus March 16 was all she needed to make her decision.

Johnson, a long and athletic 6-foot-3 junior forward from Montini Catholic High in Lombard, Ill., left the campus feeling comfortable with the players, the coaching staff and the atmosphere. She decided to sleep on her decision for a week, but she never wavered. And during her lunch break at school Wednesday, Johnson phoned Huskies coach
Geno Auriemma
to make an oral commitment to play at UConn.

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"When I came home from UConn "¦ I just had a feeling when I was there that this is where I want to be, and I think I'm ready to make this decision,'' Johnson said. "I slept on it for about a week and then I told my mom and coach this is where I want to go and this is where I feel like I should be. I really liked it. I just felt comfortable being there.''

Johnson becomes the third player from the class of 2010 to commit to UConn. She joins
Samarie Walker
, a 6-1 swingman from Dayton, Ohio, and
Stefanie Dolson
, a 6-5 center from Port Jervis, N.Y., in what is already an impressive class. The Huskies continue to remain heavily involved with
Lauren Engeln
, a 5-11 guard from Laguna Hills, Calif., and
Bria Hartley
, a 5-7 point guard from North Babylon, N.Y.

Johnson, who actually drove around campus with her family two days prior to taking her visit because she was in the area to visit family in New York, attended a class with current UConn freshman

Caroline Doty
. She had lunch with her future teammates, went to a player's apartment, attended practice and met with Auriemma for about 90 minutes.

Montini Catholic coach
Jason Nichols
said Wednesday that Johnson told him March 17 that she was going to commit to UConn. She reiterated that fact Monday morning.

"The main thing was the kids on the team treated her like she wasn't a recruit there but already on the team,'' Nichols said. "She was like, 'They were just talking to me like I was another person that just happened to be at the lunch table.' It warmed her. She really talked about how she loved communicating with
Tiffany Hayes
,
Maya Moore
and Caroline Doty.''

Johnson had also taken visits to DePaul, Illinois, Purdue and Wisconsin. She intended to take visits to Maryland, Duke, Georgia and Vanderbilt this spring. Now that won't be necessary.

"I finally can focus on my senior year and get back in the game, just get my knee better and just not have to worry about this coach and that coach,'' Johnson said. "I can just focus on one thing now.''

Johnson averaged 19.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, 4.5 blocks and 3.3 steals as a sophomore. She played in only one game this season due to a tear in the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee.

The injury originally occurred during an AAU tournament late last July in Waukegan, Ill. Johnson underwent surgery Jan. 31.

"I'm coming along,'' Johnson said. "In May, I should be able to run.

So that's good. Once I can run again, I'll just be in the gym working on my knee and working on the game.''

Nichols said he expects Johnson to make an impact at UConn as a freshman in 2010-11. By that time, the Huskies will have lost post players
Tina Charles
and
Kaili McLaren
and swingman
Kalana Greene
to graduation, so an opportunity to step right in and play will exist.

"She's one of those kids, I don't know how you keep her off the floor because she makes plays all the time,'' Nichols said. "Here's the best part about Michala Johnson "¦ she's not an ego kid. She just likes to win. And that's a nice class coming in that year because they're losing a ton of kids. So I think she'll be an important piece to the puzzle.''